


Trust

by FaeMytho



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Music Video: Addict (Hazbin Hotel), listen that video hit so hard, this fic alludes to some heavy stuff regarding addict AND angel's sex work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:01:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26740030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaeMytho/pseuds/FaeMytho
Summary: "Listen, Angel, I just… want to talk," Charlie tried again. "I'm not gonna barge in, and I'll go away if you really want me to but… I'm worried about you. You just… you don't seem okay."There was silence on the other side of the door. It lasted so long that for a moment, Charlie was sure that Angel was ignoring her and hoping she'd just go away. Instead, Angel answered, his voice so soft and quiet she almost missed it."Yeah, sure. Come in."
Relationships: Angel Dust & Charlie Magne
Comments: 6
Kudos: 69





	Trust

**Author's Note:**

> this was a filled out request for a gthb board prompt that got WAYY away from me
> 
> not complaining tho.

The hallway was silent, deep mahogany red carpet swallowing the soft footsteps of one particular rosy-cheeked demon princess. The gentle smile on her face was strained, but despite the fact that nobody was around to see it, she didn't drop the look.

In reality, she was lost in thought. Their current and only resident had been acting strangely lately, and though she had asked him about it, she'd never gotten a straight answer.

She was genuinely worried about him, and the realization made her stop in the middle of the hallway. She truly did care for him, outside of him being her ticket to the success of her reformation plan, that was. It wasn't that big of a shock, but she honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd let herself care about someone. At least, not unconsciously.

Brushing it off, she continued her trek down the hall. So what if she actually cared about him? It wasn't as though she  _ shouldn't _ . It was to these thoughts that she came to a stop at his door, raised her fist without a single hint of hesitation, and gently knocked on the wood.

Angel had picked out his room himself, a room up high in the hotel, with a balcony and a way to overlook the entire Pentagram. While it was a long walk up all those flights of stairs, and it might have just been easier to take the elevator up, Charlie enjoyed the walk. It gave her time to think about what she was going to say.

Except for the fact that she remembered absolutely nothing she'd planned to talk about as soon as her knuckles hit the door.

"Go away princess," Angel called from inside the room, and she could feel herself puffing up in indignance at the title.

"You didn't even know it was me!" She argued back, stepping closer and pressing her ear up against the door. She could hear Angel moving around, the rustling of bedsheets reaching her ears.

"I do now," Angel answered back, sounding unconcerned. Though now that she was listening harder, she could hear a catch in his voice. Something was definitely wrong. "'Sides, Vags is never polite enough to knock."

Charlie blinked, before sighing and making a note to remind her girlfriend that it was nicer to give their patrons privacy rather than barging straight into their rooms with no warning. Vaggie, however, always insisted it was better  _ not _ to give their patrons time to hide whatever they were up to in their rooms. Vaggie didn't believe their guests had the self-restraint, while Charlie believed it was better to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"Listen, Angel, I just… want to talk," Charlie tried again. "I'm not gonna barge in, and I'll go away if you really want me to but… I'm worried about you. You just… you don't seem okay."

There was silence on the other side of the door. It lasted so long that for a moment, Charlie was sure that Angel was ignoring her and hoping she'd just go away. Instead, Angel answered, his voice so soft and quiet she almost missed it.

"Yeah, sure. Come in."

She blinked, taking a second to understand the whispered words, before leaning back from the door to stare at it.

"Alright," she finally said, nervously fiddling with her bowtie before reaching for the handle. To her surprise, the door was unlocked. Given how secretive the spider demon was, it almost felt as though Angel was hoping someone would come. "I'm coming in. Please be decent?"

She gave him another moment, before opening the door and stepping inside. There was a lump of fur on the bed, curled up on its side in a ball and facing away from her. She closed the door behind her with a soft click. Angel said nothing, and as she approached the bed, a pink snout poked its way up over the lump that was Angel. His little pet pig stared at her, and she gave them a little smile before returning her attention to Angel.

He was topless, which didn't really bother her. His blanket had been hastily yanked over his lower half, which led her to believe he hadn't been dressed at all when she'd knocked. He had made an effort to cover himself though, probably when she'd asked him to. It was the thought that counted, and that was all she cared about.

"… Do you want to talk about it?" She asked him quietly, sitting on the edge of the queen sized mattress. He shook his head.

"That's alright." She shifted, facing away from him. Maybe he'd feel more comfortable if he knew she wasn't looking at him. "You don't have to talk about what exactly it is, but… Whatever it is, you just don't seem okay. And I… well, I'm here? You're not alone, and whatever this is, you don't have to go through it by yourself. You know?"

Angel still said nothing. A snuffling snout brushed against her, and she stared down in surprise at the little pig who'd shoved their head under her arm, nuzzling their way into her side.

Charlie smiled, lifting her hand to gently rub the top of the little pig's head. They gave a little snort and closed their eyes, growly purrs rumbling from their chest as they leaned into her hand. Behind her, Angel sighed. She heard him shift on the mattress, felt it dip beneath her as he readjusted himself.

"It's stupid, princess," he finally muttered. "Y'wouldn't understand."

"Could… Well, would explaining it help?" She finally asked, hoping she hadn't crossed a line. She'd never known Angel to be this openly expressive when he was feeling bad. Actually, she'd never known Angel to be openly expressive about anything, other than what he intended everyone to see.

"D'you know what it's like," he whispered, and her hand paused from petting the little pig. She strained her ears just to hear. "To feel like you're on fire all the time?"

"… No. I don't," she answered after a moment, realizing he was waiting for her answer. Upon receiving it, she heard the sheets rustle again.

"Figures. It's… it's hell. No pun intended," he murmured, his voice lilting with a broken crack. "Ya got no idea what it's like, Arrivin' down here. Suddenly finding out there  _ is _ an afterlife, and that ya made it to the burnin' one. Th' bad one."

Angel's voice cracked again, and he sniffled. She stayed silent, mulling his words over in her mind, over and over. She couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like. After all, she'd been Hell-Born. She hadn't Arrived.

"Then, ya find out what your punishment is. And only sex, or gettin' high as all hell can stave it off." His voice was so quiet, and her eyes widened. Demons didn't usually talk about their punishments so casually. Most of them were sore spots for the demon in question. The fact that Angel had brought up his, to her… "But you feel so fuckin' dirty, and all the shame ya felt when you were alive comes rushing back every time the burnin' stops."

It was a level of trust so deep that Charlie barely dared to breathe. Yet, Angel wasn't done.

"Do ya know what it's like," he whispered. "To know that you've sold your soul and that you're never getting it back?"

"Angel," she spoke, though she had no idea what she was going to say. Her voice felt so far away, and for the first time, the horror of what the Punished really had to go through was hitting her. "I…"

"Whatever. It doesn't matter anyways."

Though he shrugged it off, he still sounded so broken. Charlie stared down at her lap, her gaze catching on the little pig snuggled up to her side. They blinked up at her, before wiggling away and returning to Angel. She turned to look at him as well.

Angel was sitting up now, though thankfully the blanket still covered his lower half. He was still facing away from her, but she could still see the soft, gentle relief in the way he slumped as his pig nuzzled up to him.

"It does matter," she found herself saying. "You don't deserve eternity of… this."

"I do, princess. The Lady up top seems to think so too."

"Well," Charlie blustered on, unable to stop herself. "She's wrong if that's the case. You and everyone else here in hell deserve a chance to do better, and well… you're here, you know? That counts for something."

For the first time since she'd gotten there, Angel turned to look at her. The fur around his eyes was damp and watered down and his eyes were suspiciously shimmery, but they were wide with disbelief despite that. A beat passed, and then Angel looked away from her, a sad smile on his face.

"Princess, I only came here because I don't gotta pay anything to stay."

"But you're complying with our rules.  _ And _ you haven't left."

Angel scoffed, but the sound was quiet and wet, and he lifted a hand to cover his mouth. He turned his face further away from her, but when she reached for one of his hands, holding it in hers, he didn't flinch away from her touch. It was another moment before she found herself able to speak.

"Angel," Charlie said softly, her voice quiet. "You're not alone. I know it's hard to believe we want to help. But I promise you, we  _ do _ ."

Angel's shoulders shook, and his hand grasped hers tighter, and she sat with him for the rest of the morning.

Later, when she was in the lobby with Vaggie, going over some possible advertisements Alastor had proposed to promote the hotel, she caught sight of Angel leaving. The spider demon looked worn underneath all the cosmetics on his face, and his sauntering step wasn't as peppy as it usually was.

She could hear Husk groan over by the bar when Angel passed him by, heard the skittering of Niffty's fast pattering feet against the wood of the hotel's foundation, and caught the clopping tap of Alastor's shoes against the stairs. Yet, it was all muted as Angel's eyes caught hers.

There was a flash of something in his eyes that she couldn't quite see. When she gave him a smile, he surprised her by returning it.

"Be back later princess," he called carelessly over his shoulder, and stepped out of the hotel. A moment after he'd gone, Vaggie leaned over into her space, squinting in the direction of the doors.

"Did Angel seem… off to you?" She asked quietly, turning her frown towards Charlie. The reaction was far from unwarranted. Usually, Angel never said goodbye when he left. Even Husk, nursing a hangover at the bar, was staring at the doors the spider demon had left through.

With a start of realization, Charlie recognized the emotion she'd seen in Angel's eyes.

"Yeah," she answered her girlfriend, but she couldn't stop her smile from growing wider across her face. It was the same emotion he'd shown when he told her about his Punishment. The same emotion she'd shown him when she promised him he wasn't alone. "I think he'll be okay though."

He trusted her.

**Author's Note:**

> so, uh, addict, amiright
> 
> i really wish angel had let charlie comfort him at the very end q~q
> 
> i really hope he opens up to her with more time tho. they have _such_ a good potential for friendship.


End file.
